ABSTRACT
The practice of medical care at home is not new. Whether this was a house call for scarlet fever or a centuries-old practice of midwifery, medical care was largely done in the home until the last century. However, the reach of that practice was limited by what a physician or nurse midwife could physically carry in a satchel. For this reason, among other social, technological, and economic advancements, there was a rapid move toward centralization of healthcare. Over a series of decades, however, there were distinct risks which came to be identified within hospital care. Home care began to emerge again, this time for specific clinical purposes, including post-hospital discharge care, palliative care, and rehabilitation services. The span of services has continued to grow, and with the co-development of telemedicine and mobile technologies able to collect and transmit patient data, it has expanded into the care of sicker and more complex patients. Unifying a vetted care model with cutting-edge digital technology and advanced logistics has led to the current state of hospital at home, unifying intelligent patient insights with established cost and outcome benefits to scale this model of care.
